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Visitors, please read the Law Library's Visitors Policy for updated visitor's requirements.
If research assistance is needed, please do not visit the library without receiving confirmation of your appointment from a library staff member.

Law Library Service Desk Manual: Starting & Finishing Your Shift

Starting Your Shift

You are expected to be at the desk and ready for work at your scheduled time. If you are the first person in the library to work, you will need to walk around and turn on all the lights and computer monitors. Notify staff if you find anything broken or in need of repair.

When you are finished with your shift, wait for the next person to relieve you at the desk before leaving. If the worker scheduled for the next shift doesn't show up, inform an Access Services staff member immediately. Never leave the desk unattended.

If you work the shift that closes the library, you will need to make rounds 15 minutes before closing to ensure students have left, and that spaces are straightened up. Housekeeping will sanitize the space after closing, however, please ensure that any whiteboards that have been used are sanitized and placed where they belong (second floor, or barcoded ones in the staff area behind the Service Desk).

Students

When you arrive, check with your supervisor where you are needed and what work they have for you.

Doing course work or other personal work at the desk is a privilege, and may only be done if you are you are not assigned, or are finished with, any other duties. It is required that you complete duties that are assigned to you. Please complete all assigned duties first (shelving, shelf reading, loose leaf, etc.), then you may work on your personal assignments. Please do not scatter your belongings all over the desk; keep them confined to a small section where they are easy to put away.

When you have finished you shift, make sure you have filled out your electronic time sheet for the shift you worked.

Library Doors & Keys

When you arrive to work on the weekend before opening time, the library doors will be locked. Use your keycard to swipe into the library. If for some reason your keycard doesn't allow this, tell your supervisor. You may also get the security guard to swipe you into the library, or to let you into the staff elevator, which will deposit you inside the staff area of the library on the second floor.

Inform a permanent library staff member if the doors malfunction in any way.

If you must prop the library doors to "OPEN", please make sure they are returned to the "AUTO" setting. Never set the doors to the "CLOSED" setting, as this will not allow the doors to open at all, in either direction. You and patrons will not be able to leave, and incoming staff will not be able to access the library, even with an ID card.
Switching the door settings requires a key that can be found on the key hook located on the back wall of the staff area between offices 241 and 242.

Once you have swiped into the library, you will need the key to open the staff area behind the desk. The key is located in a small gray lock box in the top left drawer in the smaller desk in the back corner of the Service Desk area. The password is 1939. Make sure the key is put back into the lock box as soon as you are finished with it, so the next person will be able to access it.

The keys to both of the elevators and other areas of the library are located on the back wall of the staff area, between offices 241 and 242.

LibChat

Please log into and monitor LibChat whenever you have a desk shift. If you are working in your office with the bell out, please log in at your office computer.

Directions on how to access LibChat:

  • Go to LibAnswers. Staff should be signed in as themselves. Student login is username: law-ill@nccu.edu password: lawcirc! (no caps).
  • Click the LibChat dropdown link in the top orange menu or click the “Sign In” link in the upper right corner of the page.

  • Click Connect, which will open another tab in your browser.
  • You are now connected to LibChat and can answer any questions that come in.

 

Basic LibChat info:

  • In the top, left corner under 'Status' you have the option to switch between Offline, Internal or Online. Once you have logged in, you are automatically Online. Don’t forget to switch to Offline when your shift is over.
  • Just underneath 'Status' you have the option to check the box to appear 'Set Away'. You can do this if you need to step away from the desk to help a patron, etc.

For more information about using LibChat to speak with patrons please check out this page of the Service Desk Manual: here.

Stepping Away

If you need to step away from the Service Desk, please place the "BE RIGHT BACK" sign on the desk. The sign is on the back of the sign with the bell. Acceptable reasons to leave the desk include bathroom breaks, going upstairs to retrieve volumes for filing, re-shelving books, assisting patrons, or doing rounds. If you will be gone for longer than a couple of minutes, inform your supervisor or an access services staff member, who will come sit at the desk themselves or direct you to place the sign and bell on the desk.

If you have placed the bell on the desk be sure to have the bell with you at all times, and do not leave the library with the bell. The bell has a limited range and may not reach beyond the library.

Book Return Deposit Box

When you enter the library, the book return deposit box is located to the left of the Service Desk. Make sure to check the book return for items when you arrive, and before you close for the day. You do not need a key to access the book drop.